Xabi Alonso demanded a strong finish to Bayer Leverkusen's Bundesliga campaign, despite his team's title hopes having been all but extinguished.

Leverkusen won a Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double last season, while their only defeat across all competitions came in the Europa League final.

Yet their hopes of retaining the Bundesliga title are all but over, with Bayern Munich eight points clear at the top with four games left.

Indeed, Bayern could win the title on Saturday, should they beat Mainz and Leverkusen fail to beat Augsburg.

"The situation in the past week is a bit different after the draw against St Pauli," said Alonso, who is being heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid to replace Carlo Ancelotti.

"We want to end the season as best as possible with a bit of a better feeling than we have right now. There were a lot of positives this season but clearly our feeling right now is not the best."

Holders Leverkusen, beaten in the Champions League last 16 by Bayern, also crashed out of the DFB-Pokal earlier this month following a shock semi-final loss to third-tier Arminia Bielefeld.

"We have to change a bit in this feeling. We wanted to stay in the fight for the Bundesliga but we did not do it well in the past two matches and that is the consequence now," said Alonso.

The Spaniard, with a contract to 2026, did not comment on reports that these four remaining matches would be his last for Leverkusen.

"No, I don't go that far," Alonso replied when asked about his future at the club after the end of the season. "I want to prepare my team. I don't want to think too far ahead.

"No pressure. The situation is clear. There's a moment for everything and it's still too early to talk, so we need to wait."